Last.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

yVALTER E. TRFANT, OF WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS.

LAST.

srncrrrcA'rroN forming part of Letters Patent No. 633,741, dated september ee, 1899.

Application filed May 9, 1898.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WALTER E. TRUFANT, of Vhitman, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvement-s in Lasts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to lasts which are divided transversely into sections and adapted to be shortened by a relative movement of the sections, and has for its object to provide a last with the parts jointed together in such a way as to be locked positively in their operative position and readily shortened to facilitate the removal of the last from the shoe and to also secure an unbroken outer surface when the last is in use; and to this end it consists of certain improvements, which I will now describe, and point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, Figure l represents a section of my last locked in its operative position. Fig. 2 is a section showing the last shortened. Fig. 3 is a section through the line 5c Qc of Fig. l. Fig. et is a section through the line yy y in Fig. l. Figs. 5 and G represent perspective views of parts of my linked connection detached from the last. Fig. 7 shows the position of the parts when the heel is slightly raised; and Fig. 8, their position when ready to tip forward, as shown by the broken and dotted line in Fig. 2.

The same characters of reference refer to the saine parts in all the figures.

In the drawings, ct represents the toe-see tion, and b the heel-section, of my last, transversely divided by the irregular line n o.

c is a met-al heel-seat extending from the front of the heel-section far enough back to receive the connecting-links and the jackspindle and is held in place by the rivet d is the hole for the jack-spindle, and ethe slot or recess to receive the jointed connecting-links g and h.

The heel-seat c is flanged at the bottom to cover that portion of the heel liable to be injured in the operation of heeling the shoe and has a body of sufficient width to withstand the strain of the jack-spindle and is preferably of square section, so that the recess or slot to receive it may be readily sawed out after the last has been divided into sections, and thus require but one operation and no handwork in fitting. e

Serial No. 680,109. (No model.)

e is a recess sawed in the toe-section to receive the link g.

g is a duplicate of g to give added strength and to enable the lever to it nicely in all positions in the recesses c' and-c, which are the same width and the sides of which register.

m is a pin or stop on the heelsection which enters the'recess e and acts as a guide to keep the parts in alinement as they are brought together and as a stop coming in contact with the wall of the recess e to assist in holding the sections in position while they are locked.

The last in operative position is shown in Fig. l, and it will be noticed that it presents an unbroken surface on the sides and bottom and when locked cannot be collapsed by any degree of pressure to which it may be subjected and has all of the advantages of a solid last. The jointed link g 7L is pivoted or jointed to the heel-section l) by the pin or rivet j through the hole j in the link hand is connected to the link g by the pin 7.: through the holes le and k2, and the link g is pivoted to the toe-section ct by the pin 1', which passes through the hole t".

The link g is pivoted to the toe-section and is considerably longer than the link h, pivoted to the heel-section, and when the last is locked link g extends into the heelsection and incloses the link h, and thus the links assume their shortened position and together are the same as a single link, the length of g less the length of h, The links and sections are locked as the link 7L is forced back, so that the connecting-pin 70 is slightly by the line drawn through the center of the pins 'ij'. In this illustration of myI invention the pins 'L' andy' are not placed at exactly a right angie to the line dividing the sections; but the rivet to which the link gis pivoted in the toesection is below and the rivet in the heelsection to which the link 7L is pivoted is placed above a perpendicular line erected on the face of the sections where a line connecting the rivets t' and j intersect the line of the division of the sections, so as to tend to carry the heel-section down by the toe-section but this tendency is resisted by the oifset in the line of severance of the section and by the stop m comingin contact with the wall of the recess e. As the links g g lit the sides of the recess e', it will be seen that there is no IOO possibility of the sections getting out of place while thc last is in use.

To remove the last from the shoe, the links are unlocked by carrying the pin past the line of the pins j by pulling on the arm lof the link h. The heel can then be slid up in contact with the toe-section, which, owing to the inclination of the faces of the sections, shortens the last. When the heel has been raised some distance, as shown by the broken and dotted lines in Fig. 2 and full lines in Fig. S, it is swung forward, as shown in the full lines in Fig. 2, when the last can be readily drawn from the shoe without stretching or injuring the leather or other material o f which the shoe is m'ade. The last can also be readily replaced in the shoe, if desired. As the sections slide on one another the links lengthen as the joints open, and when the last is shortened and the heel tipped forward the links are extended, so that the connection is the length of thelink g added to the length of the link 7L. W'hen the last is removed from the shoe, the heel-section is swung down into place and is brought to proper alinement by the lever g and pin m, when the sections are locked by carrying the pin 7c past the center line of the pins tj.

I do not confine myself to the arm Z to move the links to lock and unlock the sections, but may use a last-hook through a hole in the side of the last or any suitable means. The links and their position may also be considerably varied without departing from the scope of my invention.

Vhat I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A transversely-divided last comprising two sections connected by two links pivoted to, and contained in recesses in, said sections, theconnectiug-jointof saidlinks being adapted to pass by a line drawn through the center of the'said pivots to lock the sections, substantially as described.

2. A transversely-divided last comprising two sections connected by links pivoted to the sections and jointed together,one of said links being longer than the other so that when said sections are in operative posit-ion onelink will be folded within the length of the other, and when said sections are in their last-shortening position opening to allow the sections to slide on one another, substantially as described.

A transversely-divided last comprising a toe-section and a heel-section recessed to receive jointed connecting-links, the connecting-links, and a pin or projection in the heelsect-ion entering the recess in the toe-section to act as a stop, substantially as described.

4:. A transversely-divided last comprising a toe-section and a heel-section recessed to receive connecting-links, links in said recess, and a metal seat in the heel-section extending from the face of the section back to receive the connecting-links and the jack-spindlc, substantially as described.

5. A transversely-divided last comprising a toe-'section and a heel-section recessed to receive connecting-links, links in said recess, and a metal seat in the heel-section extending from the face of the section back to receive the connecting-links and the jack-spindle, and flanged at the bottom to protect the heel of the last, substantially as described.

6. A transversely-divided last comprising a toe-section and a heel-section, each section recessed' to receive connecting-links, links pivoted in said recesses to the sections and jointed together, one of said links being shorter than the other that it may fold within its length, and an arm extending outward from one of said iinks to operate the said links, substantially as described.

7. A transversely-divided last comprising a toe-section and a heel-section connected by links pivoted to the sections and jointed together in such manner that the said joint will pass by a line drawn through said pivots to lock the links and sections, and means for operating the links, substantially as described.

S. In a last, the combination of a fore part,

which has on its rear end a plane surface which makes an acute angle with the bottom, a heel part fitted to vthis plane surface, connecting-links working in slots in the heel and fore parts, a pivot in the fore part about which the connecting-links turn, a second pivot in the heel part which is nearer the top of the last than the pivot in the fore part when the heel part is closed u'pon the fore part in its lengthenedrelation, said links being jointed together so as to extend as the last is shortened, substantially as described.

9. As an article of manufacture, alast-joint member consisting of a jointed link adapted to be pivoted in coinciding recesses in a transversely-divided last, one memberbeing adapted to fold Within the length of the other member when the last is in operative position, and opening to lengthen as the sections are displaced to shorten the last, substantially as described.

lO. As an article of manufacture,a last-joint member consisting of a jointed link adapted to be pivoted in coinciding recesses in the sections of a transversely-divided last, one member of said link being adapted to fold within the length of the other member when the last is in operative position and opening to lengthen as the sections are displaced to shorten the last, and a metal heel-seat to which one end of said link is pivoted, said heel-seat being formed so that it may extend from the face of the heel-section back far enough to contain the recess, and the hole for the jackspindle, substantially7 as described.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IVALTER E. TRUFANT.

Witnesses:

ALBERT H. LRIGHAM, ALLsroN D. GURNEY.

IOO

IIO 

